1
2
3
4
Interview in a Wrap.. or a Boot As you could imagine, crazy fans means crazy stories for most celebrities. Our favorite question to ask in interviews is, “What’s the craziest thing that has happened to you on tour?” MAX is an artist known for having very intimate shows with his fans. He loves to vibe out and really connect with each fan as an individual rather than simply but on a good show. We hoped to get a juicy crazed fan story, but in MAX’s case we got an interesting piece on himself. MAX: “The craziest thing that’s happened to me on tour? Gosh, well when I was closing out the show in Montreal I wanted to jump down off the stage to really be close with my fans. Well, I jumped down and I uh... I broke my foot. I finished out the show but I really didn’t know what to do in that situation. It was super unexpected. They asked if I wanted to cancel the tour but I love my fans too much to do that. It’s funny because I never could have foreseen myself performing in a boot but now it’s like I can’t see myself performing without it.” We are glad that MAX is an artist so dedicated to his fans that not even a broken foot could hold up a tour. If you haven’t heard his new album, N WL, you can find it on Amazon and iTunes.
5
this photo was taken by @_leosa
6
leososaa.tumblr.com
7
MAC
MILLER photos by Gus Stark
Pittsburgh emcee and rapper sells out the Joy Theater in New Orleans shortly after releasing his new album GO:ODAM. 8
The Griswolds sive interview from Halloween at
Los Angeles.
9
photo by Danielle Ellis 10
Introduce yourself and the role in the band. My name is Chris and I play.. the vocals. Tim and I play bass guitar. Lucky and I’m the vibe guy/ the drummer. Dan and I play the cello.
What genre do you consider your band? Chris: Lame, bad, sickening, Lucky: Poor quality, problematic. Tim: Indie pop. Chris: Tim, listen to him. His answer was probably the closest.
What is the story behind your name? Your band name?
Chris: It’s actually all four of ours’ last names. Lucky: We’re like cousins. Dan: We’ve got some brothers and cousins. Tim: We’re like Ghostbusters. We were going to dress as ghostbusters. But yeah, we all have the same last name. Two brothers and two cousins.
How long have you been together as a band? 11
photo by Danielle Ellis
Chris:
Tim: Chris:
What has been the craziest thing that has happened on tour?
-
Chris: Dan:
Lucky: Chris:
Chris:
Lucky: Dan: Tim:
How has this tour been compared to others so far?
Chris:
Chris:
-
Dan: 12
-
photo by Paige Sara Wilson
13
Can you talk a little bit about the album and how you guys feel like it represents where you’re at in your music careers?
What’s the most fun to perform?
Chris: “Right on Track” or “Down and Out.” To us, the most fun to perform is the one the crowd gets into the most. Tim: For us, we can have fun performing a song but if the crowd is looking at us like “yeah that song is kinda bad” then it’s not fun for us. But if the crowd is getting into it and the crowd is having a good
Chris: Funny because it kinda represents where we were in our musical careers. We wrote that from 2012- to when we recorded it in 2014. Writing that album, it kinda
then than it does right now, I think. That album was about starting a band and starting touring the world the starting of where we are now. it was the journey up until now. The album we’re writing now is going to be a little bit different. It’ll be more about the journey we’re on now, in the last year.
song. “Down and Out” the people like jump up and down and “Right On Track” people sing along. Lucky: “Down and Out” is just a really easy song to get into, people are like on their heels for that one.
Who are some of your mu-
Tell us a little about the album -What’s your favorite track off of the album and why?
Chris: We all love Metallica. PerFrom the 90s I love Nirvanna. Lucky: I’ve been listening to a lot of 21 Pilots and that s**t is great. Tim: We’ve been listening to a lot of modern music that is relatable to our childhood and have been trying to make into something we all love.
Chris: I connect with probably “16 Years” the most or maybe “Down and Out.” Those are probably my two favorites. They’re kinda deep and cool. Dan: My favorites would be “Live This Nightmare” and “Not Ready Anymore.” Tim: I’m going to say “16 Years” also. 14
A Night at the Troubadour Australian quartet, The Griswolds, have been buzzing throughout photos and story by Paige Sara Wilson
the indie music scene ever since their debut album Be Impressive was released in August of 2014. To follow, the band earned further recognition last spring as they toured said album as support for fellow alternative band, Walk The Moon. Now, The Griswolds are branching out. The team kicked off “The Excellent Adventure Tour� on June 16,
15
-
Our Youth Memories
-
Rocketman, Skeletons, Treasure, and Robot Love
-
Urban Photograph Back to Me
Come
Polaroid Sad-
ness Disease
16
shine through at their concerts, and June 30th was no exception -
Stay tire room belted the choruses.
Griswolds, would appear on
Riptide (Vance Joy cover), which impressed as the band took a spin upon the original, adding their
crowd-pleaser, Right On Track, the unity between the quartet taneously clear. Smiles, eye con-
came Live This Nightmare, which
pointing, shaggy-headed lead while leading with bass, undeniable groove, and more intricate playing techniques, Live This Nightmare stuck out as the most
crowd as he sang. Succeeding with 16 Years, the room eagersubsequently air-drummed to the beat. The Courtship of Summer Preasley a Lion) queued third on the set-
another several songs, the band closed the show with a two part Beware The Dog, and Heart of a Lion -
drum beat that demonstrated -
-
to do so throughout the track as terns became progressively more complex. More undeniable talent to their alternative radio hits, Be Impressive, and If You Wanna
17
18
19
20
on his unique writing process- one only a true artist can master. by Rebecca Reece Imagine working on a song day in and day out, only then to go into the studio and work on it even more- tweaking it little by little to get it just right. When asked how you think the music writing process goes, one would probably picture it to be like this. Few artists are so gifted as to be able to write a brilliant song in the first go-around. If you are not familiar with SoMo, he is an R&B artist based out of Texas who first became famous from the YouTube videos he posted with personal renditions of top hits. He is also widely known for his original single “Ride.” EMM got to sit down with Joseph Somers-Morales, “SoMo”, himself to discuss his writing and recording process. “For me, I’m what you’d call a freestyle writer. I like to just go into the booth with my producer or
whoever is with me that day. I kinda just vibe out and sing along and start from scratch that way. I listen to some other music and just freestyle my work,” says the 28-year-old singer and song writer. “I recently
“...it’s really introvert verses extrovert and I think I balance them both pretty well...” wrote “You Can Buy Everything,” it’s on My Life II. It was one of the last songs I wrote. That song, it was a freestyle completely. It was just me letting my emotions out in song form and I really just, I enjoy that song.” Some writers make a career out of soley writing music for art-
21
ists like SoMo to record and perform. Many artists cannot do both write and perfom. With SoMo speaking so passionately about his writing, we asked if he liked writing or performing better: “50/50. I honestly enjoy both processes. It’s really introvert verses extrovert and I think I balance them both very well.” After seeing his show live in New Orleans, this is without a doubt true as could be. SoMo has a special way of bringing out a personal, yet still energetic, vibe throughout the entire audience. Each individual song is performed with overwhelming passion and delicacy. We know this is exactly what SoMo is meant to be doing in life. I couldn’t say it any better than he did himself, “I couldn’t be more excited about the future.”
22
23
MAYDAY
PARADE photos by Zach Whitehead story by Rebecca Reece
When you think Mayday Parade, you probably think EP, Tales Told By Dead Friends is probably the most well known song off of the EP, of which they still perform to this day. Their newest album, Black Lines, released on October 9, 2015 and brought a new sound to the classic Maysound, whereas one might describe the new album as a lit-
24
Derek Sanders, the band’s front man, we discussed the newest album and this change in style.
new things altogether. I think it’s only natural that our music changes as we After ten years of making music (not including the time they were a band before they were published), and a slightly new sound, you can still go to a show and expect the same great Mayday Parade- the band we lutely phenomenal band that will always be able to sell out a New Orle-
in upcoming issues,
find an
Ellis Music Magazine EXCLUSIVE feature... 25
26
RL GRIME photographs and story by Rebecca Reece
First known as Clockwork, now as the alter ego RL Grime- the young Henry Steinway, 24, is no stranger to the world of trap. Primarily a solo DJ, he is also know for going back to back with EDM’s biggest names: Diplo, Skrillex, Baauer, Cashmere Cat, What So Not, and a plethora of others. In 2015, he toured non-stop playing nearly every Northern American music festival along with many international festivals and venues. Known globally for his iconic instru-
27
mental hip-hop sounds with tremendous beat drops, he remixes both the old and the new. For the past several years, RL Grime has released an annual Halloween mixtape- each an hour long mix of his original music intertwined with remixes of some of pop culture’s top hip-hop tracks. This year’s mix included an intro by comedian Hannibal Buress saying he has the beats to be “Chicago’s Aviici” and he wants to make that “Swedish festival money.”
RL Grime’s hit remix singles in the past have included Rihanna’s “Pour It Up”, Kanye’s “Mercy”, and Chief Keef’s “Love Sosa.” Every mix has been building and leading into one of today’s biggest hip-hop remixes: “The Hills.” The Weeknd’s remix was released this October not long before but was included in the 2015 Halloween Mix, and can be heard in night clubs and on radio stations across the country. Houston’s premiere concert venue, Stereo Live, is known throughout for bringing the hottest DJs to their venue.
set up for the trap god, fans awaited anxiously as the crowd grew and RL Grime’s set neared. Opening with “Valhalla”, a track off his debut studio album that released last year, he played many originals and many remixes, but in with the set was a few unreleased original music. 2015 was a big year for the young DJ. Each and every track, no matter if it is an hour long mix or a single, leaves EDM junkies thinking it can’t get any better than it is- but it does. With each release, RL Grime continues to shock fans by doing the impossible and a topping the last best. It was the electrifying unthis iconic EDM venue and sold out a released music he played during Houston’s set that has us unbelievably more week before the show. With an opening lineup perfect to excited than ever for 2016.
28
THE NBHD
As of this year The Neighbourhood and Hunny the band have currently released both there albums: Wiped Out and Pain/Ache/Loving. The Neighbourhood went out with a bang this year by going on tour with Bad Suns and Hunny; the tour was called THE FLOOD. They toured all over from Texas all the way to there home town Los Angeles CA where they performed at The Shrine Auditorium.Â
29
Hunny the band was the first band up. Strobe lights dominated the first couple songs- " Cry for me","July", and " natalie."Next thing you know The Neighbourhood was up; strobe lights were taking the stage with the fog. The cowd applauded loudly for them as they went onto the stage. They sang songs from there previous album " I love you" and there mixtape " #000000 & #FFFFFF ". When I heard there music from the back of venue you could see the crowd dancing and it was the most magical feeling like " I was home ". OďŹƒcially the night was made and the after party was great. 30
HUNNY THE BAND
31
32
JOJO 33
It's not every day a pop icon re-
-- referred to as "tringle" --
emerges, but after a decade
"When Loves Hurts," "Save My
long hiatus, JoJo definitely
Soul," and "Say Love" that had
seems to be on her way to mak-
the crowd even more excited.
ing sure the world knows she's
However, before the singer left
back.
the stage, her Dallas fans got to
Early this month, the artist performed at a very sold out Club Dada in Deep Ellum on her I Am JoJo tour. The night started off with good vibes with mixes
experience a more personal performance to an unreleased song, called "I Am." She admitted the inspirational melody came from personal struggles of seeing herself negatively, and
from Soraya, a DJ from New Zealand, and lovely vocals provided by Aaron Camper, a Maryland raised singer-songwriter. JoJo worked the crowd by interacting and going through time with throwbacks of some of her most popular songs, such as "Leave (Get Out)" and "Too Little, Too Late." She proved that
realizing those thoughts were wrong.
2016 is set to be a much anticipated year for the release of JoJo's new album, though its name and release date are currently undisclosed. This will be her third album after a 10 year gap from her sophomore, The High Road, so of course fans
even with years off the radar, her voice is still off the charts.
were ecstatic and in a trance throughout the night to just have her back.
The show continued on with songs such as "Boy Without A Heart" from her mixtape, Can't Take That Away From Me, and her remix of Drake's "Marvin's Room." The popstar finished off with a trio of her newest singles 34
JoJo more than proved that even after years of setbacks, comebacks aren't too little, too late.
AB THE THIEF
Bay Area native Anthony Brooks AKA AB The Thief is making his mark on the world of mainstage music. Starting off as a local rapper with self-produced instrumentals, AB's output has evolved into 808-heavy Trap Remixes and Originals that have turned heads on the worldwide bass music circuit. Heavy traction has picked up over the last several months for AB with his coast-to-coast #ABductionTour booming, along with new merchandise and support from high profile artists like DJ Snake and TJR. Now with performances at major venues such as The Skyway Theatre (The Loft - Minneapolis), The Yost Theater (Santa Ana, CA), Buchanan’s Event Center (El Paso, TX), Amphitheatre (Tampa Bay, CA), Rehab Las Vegas (Hard Rock Hotel) and more, as well as a Festival Debut at the 2015 Sun City Music Festival under his belt, AB THE THIEF is gearing up for the ABduction. 35
36
37
38
39
40
BEST FESTIVALS TO GO TO IN 2016
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
LIGHTS 55
PHOTOS BY NINA LORENZ @NINANAALORENZ
56
What genre do you consider yourself? I call it electro-boss-faery-pop What’s the story behind the name “Lights”? It’s a short version of my last name which became a nickname, which then became my project name, then a first name. How does this tour compare to others? We’re doing things on this run we’ve never done before. We’re doing a stripped down segment in the set to blend an acoustic tour with the full tour, and playing a fan chosen bonus track, plus lots of wicked interludes and insane lighting. I think it’s something fans haven’t seen yet and that’s saying a lot having been touring since 2008. Can you talk a little about your album little machines? It was a long process to finish, dealt with a long bout of writer’s block wherein I had to really dig deep and figure out what exactly I loved about this industry and making music. In the end I think I found this happy place and that’s where the record came from. What was your inspiration behind it? Nostalgia, pop art, poetry, Kate Bush, and living in the damn moment. What is your favorite track to play? Up We Go is a real anthem live, so much energy!
57
What was your favorite track to write?
Both have to be taken in equal doses, both are super important and one can not exist without the other.
I think maybe Running with the Boys was a favorite to write because it’s all about my youth and trying to capture what really brought me back to simpler times.
Do you have any pre show traditions? We always take a shot ten minutes before we go on stage and have a group hug. We call it a production meeting.
How was the recording process of little machines? Once all the songs were written, myself and the producer, Drew Pearson, spent about 6 weeks between LA and Vancouver recording pretty much straight.
If you got in an elevator with someone who didn’t know your music how would you get them to come out to a show or get them to listen to your music?
Was it different or similar to your other albums?
Show them a sample of my dance moves and casually toss them my Twitter handle on the way out with a wink.
Little Machines was recorded more traditionally than my previous records. With those we would build and finish the songs as we went along and at the end would just have to add finishing touches. With Little Machines we took some really basic demos and turned them all into one super cohesive project.
You have a lot of tattoos, which is your favorite? Probably the Little Machines symbol behind my ear. What’s the story behind it?
You are from Canada how has that influenced your musical carrier for the better or worse?
It represents all the common ground between myself and Lights fans, such an incredible community. I created it for all of us.
Canada has a lot of great grant programs in place to support artists and my career has benefited huge from that; from tour support, to funding music videos. It really helps to keep Canadian talent thriving.
When did you know you wanted to peruse music full time? The moment I wrote my first song I knew I had found my super power.
If you could put together a dream tour who would be on it?
What do you have to have on tour with you all the time that you can’t live without? Wine, candy, hairspray, my acoustic and boots.
Kate Bush, Grimes, K Flay, and Lights! What’s better writing or preforming? 58
J $TASH 59
60
30 DAYS IN LA
61
Red Bull Sound Select has certainly out done them selves this year. They have undoubtedly made November the best month of 2016 [Yes, even better than September when Drake and Future finally gave birth to their collaborative project What A Time To Be Alive]. And Never mind December, Santa Claus isn’t event real! Let’s keep it 100 guys. No other month can compete. RBSS’s ability to curate shows has been cemented as one of the best. Don’t even get me started on the venues.. From the Hollywood Palladium in West Hollywood to the Legendary Park Plaza Hotel in Downtown LA, you were sure to get a true experience of what the many venues have to offer in Los Angeles. Although I didn’t get the chance to capture Chromeo and Cakes Da Killa on November 6th, I still made it out and caught other amazing acts. If you reside in the LA area or any part of southern California and didn’t attend at least ONE of the 30 days, you really need to reevaluate your life. You truly missed out my friend.
62
Rome Fortune Write Up
63
You would know a Beautiful Pimp if you seen one. But
would you know a beautiful pimp if you heard one? Rome Fortune is an undeniably talented when it comes to music. I mean if you aren’t hip, he recently just proved this with his latest Katrynada laced-track “Dance”. I arrived at the show pretty kind of late but made in just in time to see him perform this song live. Rome’s stage presence is so charismatic and electric. He had the entire crowd moving and grooving to the up-tempo ballad. Although Rome is heavily affiliated with the new wave of artists hailing from Atlanta, he his definitely in a lane of his own. I can’t wait to see what he has to offer in 2016! 64
Kali Uchis Write-Up Kali Uchis is certainly a one of one. Her elegant style and voice caught the attention of many with the release of her debut project Drunken Babble in 2012. I don’t think she could have followed up any better with her 2015 release Por Vida. This project featured production from heavy weights such as Katrynada, BadBadNotGood, Diplo, and Tyler, The Creator. I don’t know about you but if someone dropped those names on the production side of a project, they would have my attention and ears 100%. If you weren’t hip to Kali Uchis before digging into this issue then allow me to assist you.
65
Kimani For EMM: How did your relationship with Tyler, The Creator come about? Kali: I don’t know how Taco found out about my music. But he is the one that introduced Tyler to my music and then Tyler just reached out to me like “ Hey when you get out to LA lets get into the studio!” And we did. Ever since then we just loved working together and kept up the relationship. Kimani For Emm: So social media was really that bridge that helped you get that connection. Kali: Yeah it was Twitter! Twitter definitely helped a lot. I never used to have a twitter before I made music. I hated it. But as soon as I made Kali Uchis account that was literally where everyone reached out to me and that’s where a lot of opportunities came from. So it’s definitely a good outlet for musicians or businesses. Kimani For EMM: You recently released a visual for your track “Ridin Round”, what was the creative direction behind it? Kali: Well I really wanted it to be all about the culture. I wanted to use all Columbian people on the team to make the video. I wanted to use my family so we didn’t have any actors. We used all real people. I wanted it to be something that’s really close to my heart because I feel like the song is about accepting all of the parts of your self, including the negative parts. Kimani: Was the video a representation your every day life back home? Kali: I feel like that is definitely in the typical Columbian household where you’re getting yelled at by your Mom and you’re getting told “You need to go work. You need to go do something!” Obviously when you’re a kid, you just want to be a kid still. 66
67
Kimani: When you lived in Virginia, you used to make cover art and graphics for people as a source of income? Kali: Yeah before I started putting music out, my only job I was really ever able to keep was at a grocery store. Then I when I quit, I just kind of did what I could. Yeah I would make cover art for people and do music videos for artists locally. I used to thrift a lot too. I would make minor adjustments to clothes and then resell them. Stuff like that. Just pretty much any hustle I could do to make money while I was making music before I started making money off of music.
was holding me back to the life that I was in. Which is like the comfortable 9-5 and living with my cousin at the time. So I kind of just took myself out of my comfort zone and put myself in the mindset “maybe I might not be able to afford my rent in a few months or eat in a few months. I need to focus more on music because when you have a 9-5 job a lot of times, when you try to eat and pay your bills it becomes so overwhelming to where you cant do your passions anymore. I just made the conscience decision “maybe this wont work out for me, maybe it will. But I’m just going to take the chance because I’m really unhappy where I’m at in my life.”
Kimani: When did you first get into directing music videos?
Kimani: So you pretty much just wanted the satisfaction of knowing that you tried.
Kali: When I was really little I used to just make random films and stuff. When I made music videos for people, it was like the only people that really made music in my town were rappers that made trap music.. [Laughs] So I used to make music videos for that type of music. But everyone wanted my videos because they were only ones that weren’t the same. The way everyone else was making videos was bring all your friends out into the street and hold guns up and just start rapping or whatever. So mine were the only trap videos that were more artistic and creative. I really loved making music videos for other people. I want to start doing it again once my album is done.
Kali: Yeah it was kind of like whatever. What’s the worse that could happen? I would be homeless, live in my car for a little bit, whatever. [Laughs].
Kimani: When did you realize first “Hey! I can actually make a career out of this.”?
Kimani: What’s on your agenda for 2016?
Kimani: How would you describe your style when it comes to your music? Kali: I try to evolve as much as possible. With my music I wanted to progress and change into so many things and make so many different genres. I want to convey so many different things so that its not really one style, more like an expression. It’s kind of an extension of my mindset and wherever I’m at in my life.
Kali: I always believed in myself. But I guess I just didn’t know when exactly was the right time to quit my job and go live by myself. I guess I felt like if I stayed still not fully committing to it, it would be like I was telling myself that I didn’t believe that I could do it. So I felt like I just needed to cut everything off that
Kali: For 2016, I definitely have to drop my album and I’m hoping to direct some videos for people. Maybe direct a movie, maybe score a movie. Maybe be the voice of a cartoon character. Maybe create a cartoon.. I have a lot of ambitions [Laughs].
68
69